CDP A List Companies Showcase Six Climate Leadership Benchmarks for 2023

Of the 21,000-plus companies that disclosed through CDP in 2023, fewer than 400 — representing less than 2% — earned placement on the CDP A List for environmental leadership. A List members from North America are demonstrating concrete actions across climate, water and forest targets that set the standard for corporate best practice.

The 2023 CDP A List criteria include SBTi-validated emissions targets, robust transition plans, water withdrawal reductions and supply chain engagement. Estée Lauder has committed to cutting absolute Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 50% by 2030 from a 2018 base and reducing Scope 3 emissions per unit revenue by 60% over the same period. Johnson Controls International aligned its climate transition plan with scenario analysis covering policy, technology, market and physical risk, reflecting the rigorous bar set for A List inclusion.

Water security features prominently in 2023 A List criteria, given a projected 40% global water shortfall by 2030. Intel Corporation, a Water A Lister, invests in onsite water recycling across all facilities and predicts stable withdrawals from water-stressed areas. HP Inc. cross-references suppliers in the top 95% of procurement spend against the WRI Aqueduct and WWF Water Risk Filter. These standards reflect the growing integration of water risk into corporate governance and supply chain strategy.

On forests, Dow Chemical Company applies ESG criteria across more than 20,000 supply chain vendors, with monthly field audits for natural resources suppliers. Mars co-leads the Earthworm Foundation Aceh Landscape programme in Indonesia to reduce deforestation at jurisdictional scale — an approach requiring multi-stakeholder engagement beyond individual supply chain traceability. CDP data shows that over four million hectares of forest are lost globally each year, making landscape-level action an increasingly essential component of credible corporate deforestation commitments.

Key figure — Less than 2% (under 400 of 21,000+ companies) earned CDP A List status in 2023